Friartown News and Notes 10.30.12

All the notable news, links, pictures, and video in and around Friartown and college basketball all in one digestible, tasty place

@djt846′s Pumpkin

Happy Halloween Friartown (assuming it’s not cancelled tomorrow in your area because of the storm). This pumpkin was made last year by #pcbb fan @dtj846. I think it reigns supreme again, unless something carved out Ice Cotton’s face into one recently.

I hope everyone stayed safe during Sandy. I’ve seen some terrible things on the news about my home state of NJ.

Basketball Prospectus also put out their preseason projections, and have PC ranked #122. They have the Friars finishing 5-13 in the BIG EAST. After three straight years of 4 win seasons, that’s PROGRESS!

Vincent Council doesn’t make the Top 10, but he gets an honorable mention. As expected, they have Peyton Siva on there.

5. Peyton Siva, Louisville: The Big East preseason player of the year made major strides in his game at the perfect time last season and helped the Cardinals reach the Final Four. Siva battled an ankle injury during the winter and lost confidence in his jump shot. He made just 40.2 percent of his field goals on the season and connected on just 24.6 percent of his 3-point attempts. But by March he had settled down and improved his decision-making while continuing to play well on the defensive end. If Siva, who is a tremendous leader, continues to perform at that level (or higher) there is no reason this Louisville team can’t win a national championship.

More Council love, as he is listed #8 in the their Photo Gallery Top 10 List.

Vincent Council

Providence

Stats to know: 15.9 ppg, 7.5 apg, 4.1 rpg
The Friars’ stat-stuffing point guard led the Big East in assist rate last season, assisting on 43 percent of Providence’s field goals while he was in the game and also finished fourth nationally inassists per game. He’s relied on heavily — he played more than 90 percent of Providence’s minutes last year — and when you see all he does on often-struggling teams, it’s not hard to understand why.

According to an Instagram pic, Ricky Ledo was apparently in the hospital last night. I’m not sure for what (and it didn’t sound too serious based on some comments), but the picture has been since taken down.

ESPN and SportsNation have a suite of Polls devoted to the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, the tournament the Friars will be participating in late November. Here is where PC stands as of right now. Get out and vote, Friartown!

Which team will win the Puerto Rico Tip-Off? – Providence: 6%

Which game will be the most exciting first-round match-up? – Providence vs. UMass: 16%

Which potential matchup are you most anticipating? – Providence vs. UMass: 9%

Which of these players will likely be crowned Most Outstanding Player? – Vincent Council: 7%

Which team in this field will make the most noise in the NCAA tournament? – Providence: 5%

Point guard JaQuan Lyle (#15 ranked overall player by ESPN in 2014) “narrowed” his list down to 10 schools. It didn’t include Providence, which had offered him early in the summer. Georgetown and Cincinnati were two of the BIG EAST schools that made the cut.

The Providence staff has been active in visiting Brewster Academy as usual. According to their coach Jason Smith, they have been to see 2014 guard Jared Terrell recently. A new name from their team has also surfaced, as PC has been in contact with a 2014 PG named Kevin Zabo.